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Program: Urban Birds

Powerful Owl Project

Australia's largest owl, the Powerful Owl has a wingspan of up to 140 cm. In suburban Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, they're usually seen round remnant bushland, where they face issues including lack of nesting sites and collisions with cars and windows. We're securing a future for Powerful Owl

Photographed by Geoff Sloane

It’s hard to survive in the suburbs. Powerful Owls need ancient trees to nest in, and they roost during the day among dense leaves, but these trees are in short supply.

Key points

  • Half the owls’ forests have been lost since European settlement
  • Colliding with cars and windows kills 12% of the population of Powerful Owls in Sydney each year
  • It takes hundreds of years for trees to form hollows suitable for these birds to nest in
  • Although they’re predators, Powerful Owls can be poisoned by rat bait

Powerful solutions for Powerful Owls

The Powerful Owl Project aims to:

  • Inspire the general public, educating them about owls and their habitat requirements.
  • Train citizen scientists to conduct surveys to find owls and track breeding success.
  • Monitor the distribution and abundance of owls and uncover why owls are present in some areas and absent in others.
  • Uncover habitat characteristics associated with greater breeding success in Powerful Owls.
  • Develop accurate species distribution models to be used for planning by state and local governments.
  • Identify site-specific management recommendations.
  • Understand the impacts of threats such as vehicle strike and electrocution.
  • Inform and support land management for the conservation of Powerful Owls.

Making an impact: the Powerful Owl project is active in south-eastern Queensland and Greater Sydney

With data collected by volunteers, the Powerful Owl Project can monitor Powerful Owl breeding in Greater Sydney and south-eastern Queensland and identify how to best conserve them.

In Greater Sydney Powerful Owls occur throughout the outer metro area, especially where there’s bushland nearby. Over the past 10 years, there’s been sightings closer to the city, even in the Botanic Gardens and Centennial Park.

Over the last 11 years, we’ve monitored more than 260 Powerful Owl territories, collecting data to help land managers look after the birds on their patch.

Our activities are impacting large areas of good breeding habitat in southern Queensland, with developers clearing owl habitat to cater for people moving to the area.

We need your help to understand where Powerful Owls breed and what we can do to protect them. Volunteer for the Powerful Owl Project.

Related information

Video
Birding at Home Episode 6: Noises in the Night - Nocturnal Birds presented by Dr Beth Mott
Bird profile
Powerful Owl

The largest of Australia’s owls, the Powerful Owl usually inhabits the moist forests of eastern Australia. Its main item of prey is possums of various species.

Volunteer opportunity
Powerful Owl Project Volunteers

The Powerful Owl Project is a part of BirdLife Australia's Urban Birds Program. Volunteers keep an eye on urban Powerful Owls in Greater Sydney or Queensland.